WELLINGTON COUNTY – A baby was abandoned by the side of the road between Fergus and Orangeville in 1891. It was the scandal of the century in these parts and the public wouldn’t rest until the culprits were found and punished.
And while you may have heard of the Everdale farming community, which provides hands-on, food and farming education at its campus near Hillsburgh, you might not know it started as an experimental school in the 1960s. Many considered it a cult.
The Wellington County Historical Society has captured these stories and more in the 33rd volume of its annual publication Wellington County History and the authors couldn’t be more excited to talk about the book, the stories and how they came to find them.
Elysia DeLaurentis found herself combing through old newspaper articles and council minutes to put together the story called Forsaken.
This is the story of Rowena Watson, a 16-year-old unwed mother who, through a series of circumstances, abandoned her two-week old baby at the side of the Orangeville Road.
The events that unfolded were tragic, the news stories were sensationalized, and it’s a fascinating read.
“There are always parallels to the present day,” DeLaurentis said. “I really felt for the baby’s mother and imagine what she was going through. Even today, when a teen finds she’s pregnant, she still has to wrestle with that.”
DeLaurentis worked at the Wellington County Museum and Archives for a number of years and now runs her own research company. So, she’s adept at finding credible historical documents and turning them into interesting, factual stories.
“This story piqued my personal interest,” she said.
“There’s so much to it. So many layers. But as fascinating as I found it – all the twists and turns – it is a dark story. I’ll do something more spirited for next year’s edition.”
Melisa Luymes’ story is about the early days of the Everdale farming community, back when it was an experimental school.
“A board member had found an article by Bob Davis (the school’s founder) about the school,” Luymes said. “It was such an interesting story, I couldn’t stop.”
Luymes managed to find three women who attended the school in their youth. Because of COVID-19, she couldn’t meet with them in person. Instead, a four-person interview turned into a mini class reunion on Zoom and Luymes got to be the fly on the wall.
“They reminisced about their time there and it really filled out the Bob Davis article,” she said.
“The school had a deep impact on people, and it was not always positive.”
Was it a cult?
Luymes also managed to find a few neighbours who remembered “the hippies” and their take on what went on at the school.
“Was it a cult or was it good? That’s for the reader to decide,” she said.
Luymes said she enjoys writing living history – where she can interview people about their memories and experiences and doesn’t have to rely on archived sources.
In a few other cases, her interview subjects died before the stories were written.
“That’s the urgency – to get these stories before it’s too late,” she said. “Everyone should write down their stories.”
Volume 1 of Wellington County History was published in 1988 and Ian Easterbrook has been involved with the publication since Volume 2 in 1989.
“I don’t think we’ll run out of stories,” Easterbrook said with a laugh. “There’s always something interesting going on.”
The book costs $20 and is for sale at the Wellington County Museum, at Magic Pebble in Elora and at I Love Chocolate in Fergus.
Normally, it is out in June but was delayed this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Volume 33 is dedicated to Helen Aitkin, who edited the journal for the past seven years. Aitkin died unexpectedly in November.
